Still getting inquiries with infants despite marking unsuitable for infants

I know that others are suggesting that Airbnb couldn’t deal with it, but they could. I think they don’t because of discrimination issues, it’s easy for them to just leave it open for the host to deal with.

Yes, and because it is a computer algorithm, it is absolutely capable of not forwarding requests that include an infant in the guest account to hosts who have not appropriate for infants ticked off. We all have a wishlist for changes to how the system works, it’s a simple sorting and forwarding, so not a big expectation of a computer algorithm (Airbnb or not).

I wouldn’t hope for it though, because I do think it’s a cover-their-ass approach to discrimination issues.

I don’t know if people who don’t allow pets still get requests from someone with a pet in their guest count, but I do know that the only way to now search for a pet-friendly listing is to put a pet in the guest count. With a pet in the guest count, you are only shown pet-friendly listings. They could at least do that with infants and children, only show listings that are infant and child friendly if you have one in your guest count.

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I think her logic is it can be represented by just one more bit than 5, so it’s close enough :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:.

I denied her within minutes to prevent her from booking.

I wish I could block her but the previous ways of blocking problem guests are not working. Perhaps they changed it.

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If Airbnb put the house rules section back near the top, like it used to be, instead of buried at the bottom of the page, more guests might actually read them.

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With all due respect, if you’re not a programmer, then you don’t understand the complexity of “just, only,” and “all I want is…” in programming, especially for a program that’s as large as ABB.

I’ve been a software QA/Project Manager for over 30 years (yikes, I hate it when I count) and own a SW dev company. A change order of this magnitude is costly and time consuming. And with Air’s history of “beta testing fails” I wouldn’t put my money on a smooth roll-out.

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One strategy that I have used is to block some or all of the dates requested. That instantly blocks them from booking the requested dates and then you can unblock the dates later after they’ve hopefully moved on. Once I blocked dates and the person came back with the information I requested and I ended up letting them book. But usually I don’t hear from them again.

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“Does anybody else have some experience dealing with these infant situations?”
I make it very clear upon booking, that they need to read and understand ALL house rules or they will be bounced out or not admitted entrance. Mine is home share even though we live on the other side of our house, we still know when they come in.

Mine is a home share. So I have a bit more control over who comes and what they do.
I did block some dates for a couple wanting to stay a week and wanting me to check distances from tourist sites they wanted to visit while staying AND they demanded I give them their own entrance. I can only imagine for nefarious reasons. As I was replying to them for the dates they wanted, I blocked a few of those days in the middle of their requested dates.

Don’t worry about it, it is never ever going to happen.

My point was that they aren’t going to make it easier for hosts to avoid hosting children because of anti-discrimination laws. They are going to keep their hands clean as much as they can. It’s the same reason they require hosts to accept service dogs and ESAs.

Nearly every state has its own laws regarding discrimination in housing and then also in public accommodations. STRs already fall under one or the other in many states and as more places enact STR legislation they are categorizing STR as one or the other (housing or public accommodation) to hold them accountable under the laws and/or directly placing them as accountable under those laws (as MA did).

And these state-level laws are far more comprehensive than the federal laws (FHA and ADA). STRs are rampant with illegal discrimination and it’s not just racial. It’s just a matter of time. A great example is all of the hosts in MA, particularly on the Cape, with their no-under-25 rules. Personally, I would not f*ck with Gen Z :wink:

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That was precisely my point. Air’s “technicians” are too busy fu*8 - messing up the system with unwanted crap and Chesky is too busy pandering to actually address real business decisions and train their people.

People just do not read our listings. I got a request recently from a Host! Who said they could not find where in the listing it said no pets. They went on for a paragraph about their dog that they want to bring. I thanked them for asking, and said I’d go onto the listing and make sure the system did not accidentally omit those parts of the verbiage.
Folks do not read.

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My last 2 IBs were from folks with kids who instant booked and didn’t read the listing. Fortunately, after I sent them the paragraph from the House Rules with the hazards listed, they cancelled without penalty.

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They could prevent them, which was @house_plants’ point! They know they have children or infants, and the system could tell prevent booking and tell them why.

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That by itself should be a good reason to not allow children. Hell, about 95% of adults don’t even know how to build a wood fire.

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My biggest problem with this is we get requests not in our parameters and too many in a row we get in trouble for. I don’t allow kids, pets, more than 6 and never 1 night. Last request I got was for 1 night even though it shouldn’t have even happened. They wouldn’t cancel request & I called AB&B… they can’t cancel requests, I have to do it. Now I’ve heard others can do this so went not me? Not my fault they allowed a request like this so I shouldn’t be penalized if it keeps happening.

My last 3! Had collectively toddlers, infants, and kinders.

As y’all always say & @Kitty_Norris just lamented…folks do not read.

BUT it’s my slow season, so I explained the hazards and told them they could decide. They wanted to stay. Admittedly, they were great guests. Yeah, there was some chocolate (& glitter stickers :grin:) on the floor here & there, and fingerprints galore, but I’ve had worse from adults. Last 2 were local families (house repairs) so maybe that is why they were cool (living daily life vs. “I thought you were watching the kids” vacationers :dizzy_face:)

You may want to reconsider offering this as a rental. As @NordlingHouse says, almost no one knows how to build a wood fire. Railings not up to code and steep stairs put you in a precarious place legally if someone gets hurt. If you do rent it, I suggest a separate contract guests have to sign that a lawyer has drawn up with lots of waivers of liability to protect you. And definitely get insurance!

Although I’m sure it’s charming, guests are not smart when they are on vacation. They don’t read, they don’t think - but they do drink, frequently a lot. We’ve been renting out our place for six years, and I continually “dumb it down” as much as possible.

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Might you be indicating that you make exceptions if you say no infants but then infants count toward occupancy limits? That said, I agree with everyone that guests don’t read much anymore.

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So - as a parent - whether a place was kid friendly or not wouldn’t really matter much to me. I wrangled my kids through all sorts of settings - kid proofed or not. If my infant was going to be at risk in a place - I’d just travel with a portable crib and use a carrier to keep them on me when necessary. So you may just have parents who are ok wrangling their kiddos

??? I travelled plenty with my kids, too. But I can’t imagine keeping a one and a half year old in a portable crib or strapped to me every waking hour of a vacation and no parent would do that. If a place isn’t suitable for little ones, that’s up to the host to determine, not the parents.

No one needs a lawsuit because a toddler fell down the stairs or flipped over a railing when mom and dad weren’t paying attention.

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My kids started traveling with me internationally at 4 months old - so we got pretty adept at keeping them safe in any environment. You get used to it.

But that being said - it’s absolutely any hosts choice - I was just providing context to why a parent may still book even if it says not suitable for kids

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